Wow! Validation that I am not completely nuts! I am so glad to see this post. I bought a Mini cooper with one working (with remote) key. I went through hell to copy a new key. In the interest of helping someone else that may be reading this thread, let me describe that process.

First, cutting the key isn't the issue, it is programming the transponder. That was a pain. What I finally found was that the AK90 programmer worked perfectly BUT you will never be able to find the PCF7930AS chips. They are almost unavailable now. However, after some research, I decided to try the PCF7935AS chip and it worked fine! Now that I've got an AK90, I'm actually offering to "rent" it to others. The price is $45 for 2 weeks with a $110 deposit. Send me an email if you are interested. I can also supply the transponder chips. I figure I might as well help pay off the purchase if I can!

OK, now to the remote section. Like the OPer, I bought several keys on ebay and raised my blood pressure trying to "program" them using the directions on the internet. I now understand that those directions were flawed. They relate to an already programmed key losing sync with the car and how to refresh that sync. That is completely different than programming a brand new remote! The OPer's excellent research hit (http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/mini/B...L%20MODULE.pdf) helped clear that one up.

I just called the dealer and they also confirmed the need for the bar code. This seems to be a patently stupid way to handle programming but it is what it is. So now I'm in the same boat as the OP. I have spare keys that appear to be worthless because they don't have a barcode. If there is anyone out there that has access to this AutoLogic program then I definitely have a few remotes for which I need barcodes! I am extremely interested in hearing if there is progress on this front.

Thanks.

 

... cutting the key isn't the issue - how to do it?

 

That is where I believe I have made the break through. After a ton of research and finding that the Autologic for the Mini requires the bar code which is completely opposite the Land Rover Autologic I was about to give up. After further research and putting pen to paper I have decoded the 6 digit code into most of the bar code. Some coders require all of the code and some require part of it, so I am looking for the ones that require part of it right now. I ordered a cable that will allow me to test my theory and will update when I find out if my hunch and work are correct or not.

 

It's possible, and I've done it. You have to send/fax them drivers license and title document. The key will be sent by FedEx only to the address on the title, and you must sign in person at the delivery address (no hold for pickup or redeliver to another address). I think this is a general procedure followed by BMWUSA and MINIUSA dealers. I wasn't using a NAM sponsor but you can try one of the MINI dealers on the NAM vendor list.

 

I code professionally if you are looking to write an application. As for where to cut the key. I also have a CNC. I took a picture of the key and built a toolpath. This worked OK but I was off a little bit. In the end, I managed to find a place in Redwood City, California that had a side milling duplicator. I supplied the blank and for $30 per key, they cut it. *That* key works perfectly. I have no doubt I could tinker with the toolpath I used on my CNC, but it wasn't worth the hassle (the main problem was that my units were wrong when I imported the photo into my CAD system.)

I look forward to progress on the barcode generation. This will be the final saga of the key duplication for me, although I'm finally breathing a sigh of relief because I have a second key. I was chewing my fingernails for awhile because my son has been driving the car. Teenage kids are not exactly responsible with things like keys! If he had lost it, I'd have been up a creek.

BTW, the AK90 works great BUT it does require you remove the EWS from the car (a minor pain). The flip side is you are not subject to this "10 key limit" thing that you read about on the net. You are truly accessing the binary data of the control unit so you can add/remove keys as you wish (although you still are subject to the same 10 preset codes, so if an old key were to show up, it *would* be able to start the car). The biggest hassle for me was determining that the supposedly "new" transponder chips I got originally had actually been programmed. Once programmed, you cannot reuse the chips!

OP: Can you post some of the barcodes and corresponding sticker codes (on the circuit board itself)? So far I haven't found anything on the net that has this information. I would like to take my own stab at figuring out the formula to get the barcode.

 

Unfortunately I never found a bar code and the matching sticker code, I had to work it backwards to get where I am at.

I don't want to get peoples hopes up about this working until I can make sure it is correct. If I said, "Hey I figured it out" and it turned out to be wrong anyway, people would slam me for it. At this point it is just optimism with fingers crossed.

 

I have taken pains to erase the sticker code when I have put pictures of remote boards in my repair thread for that very reason. Isn't that valuable information that would allow somebody access to your car by giving them the code to unlock the doors? Or am I not following this thread completely?

Val

 

Sure you have seen this info....but it would appear the barcode has to do with KEYLESS ENTRY, NOT the imoblizer chip.
They also have a different page that list both early gen1 and facelift cars procedures on the same page. Both have procedures to workaround the no-barcode issue... Good Luck!!

http://new.minimania.com/article/246...keys__02-07-04

 

I understand following the "better to be safe than sorry" mantra and it is good to be that way. However, the 6 digit code (actually the barcode associated with it) on the remote board will not allow you do do anything without it being programmed into the BCM. You would need to be plugged into the car with a coding machine in order to use the code. Without the code being entered into the BCM, the car will never see the remote and it cannot be cloned by any outside method.

The problem when talking about this stuff is that the word "program" is used for all of it. This is the basics of it all: for 02-04 remote keys to fully work, the blank key needs to be cut to work with your ignition and locks, the transponder chip needs to be programmed in the BCM order for the key to start the car, and the remote needs to be programmed in the BCM to communicate with the remote antenna. For 05-06 remote keys to fully work, the blank key needs to be cut to work with your ignition and locks, the transponder chip needs to be programmed in the BCM order for the key to start the car, and the procedure that ZippyNH posted above is used to pair the BCM and remote. There is no barcode for the 05-06 remote that needs to be entered in the BCM.

 

hi guys

I also have a problem like yours, I bought my '02 mini used and found that the remote doesn't work, or at least set in motion the car but does not open the door to distance.
I followed the thread and from what I understand the only solution is to go to bmw true?

Sorry for my bad english

 

If you got the remote with the car, it is most likely one of 3 things.
1. The remote is broken
2. The battery in the remote is dead.
3. The remote lost its pairing to the car.

If #1 is the case then you need a different remote.
If #2 is the case then you need a new battery. You can test the battery by pulling the remote out of the key and pressing one of the buttons. On the side with the buttons is an led that should light if the battery is good.
If #3 is the case then you can re-pair the remote by pressing the unlock (or it may be lock) button 4 times. This resyncs the remote to the car.
Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

I've already changed the battery,and the internal LED lights.

I also tried many methods I've read on the forum but none worked, tomorrow I'll try pressing the button 4 times, I hope it works.

meanwhile, thanks

 

I've tried everything but it did not work

I guess I'll have to prepare the billfold

 

Since you are going to the dealer anyway to order a new key, perhaps they can sync the remote you have now. Unless it's broken in some way, they should be able to re-pair it with the car since it came with the car, correct?

Val

 

Yes,I think so

 

I was just reading and found that the procedure to pair the remote to the car may be missing a step. This is the procedure should read.

If your key fob has just stopped working try this:

Unlock your vehicle with the key in the drivers door lock.
With all doors and windows closed press the right hand button on the key fob 4 to 8 times.

Not sure if it will make a difference, but it is worth a shot to try again if you haven't already gotten your remote to work.
Good luck

 

On the barcode front, I have gotten the following software to work on my laptop but cannot seem to find where to code the remote to the BC1.
INPA, NCSExpert, NCSDummy, EasyDIS v44, SSS/Progman v32

Anyone work at Mini that can help me through the path to coding a remote to the BC1?

This is the last step in my attempt to see if the decoding works and a lot of people are awaiting my findings. Hopefully someone can guide me in the right direction.

 

Personally, I'm not worried about putting pictures of my key on the internet, copies of barcodes, etc. If someone can actually associate "me" with a physical address, and then manufacture a key, etc, etc, they can have the car (it is only worth about 6K anyhow)! The probability of this occurring is bordering on statistically nil. A *much* more likely scenario is that a random thief will come along and just tow the car away!

A drastically more dangerous thing is Facebook. People put *way* too much information out there about themselves and their families. College students lose scholarships over 'stupid' things they do (drinking, partying, etc) all because of that one site. And, yet, that doesn't seem to cross anyone's mind or cause any concern.

So, no, I don't think there is *any* harm in putting the barcode out there, especially since Indi is absolutely correct. To actually utilize the information, you need to have a scanner connected to the OBD II port (and not just any scanner, unfortunately...). Therefore, they'd already have to have access to the car so it is a moot point.

Alan

P.S. This message is not intended to poke at anyone. It is just a humorous collection of observations I've had about perceived security or lack thereof.

 

This did not work either ...

Thanks anyway for the help

good luck!!

 

I asked a guy in an Italian forum and he said so:

in the car there is installed a control unit that manages the keys,to this are assigned 10 codes for 10 different keys. Neither the dealership knows these codes and they can not even read them.

if you want a new key, you have to write specific code that you see from your ECU on a white key, then turn off the unit the previous keys and activates the new one.

You can not take the code of a key that is already active with another code and clone, it is impossible!
The Dealership must also pass from Monaco, only they can code new keys.

 

Promez,
You are correct BUT you are confusing two topics here. There is the wireless remote for opening the doors (etc), which is what the thread here is about, and there is the transponder chip that allows a key that mechanically turns in the ignition to actually start the car. The latter is what you are talking about out. The 10 key limit is actually 10 transponder limit and that resides in the EWS, an electronic module that is on the left side of the car.

The information is also not completely accurate. Through the OBD connection you cannot read the codes BUT using a device such as the AK90, you can. The AK90 essentially has a hood that covers the microprocessor and directly access the data. You absolutely can read and reprogram that data (I have done this).

The thread here is about the wireless system, however. There is a binding that exists between the remote internal and the car's BC1 computer (not the EWS). The two systems are completely separate.

Alan

 

I appreciate people like this that enjoy a challenge -- I am frustrated just reading about the amount of tools, software, hours on the internet and still no joy.

I would have paid the $200 long ago -- thankfully for me when I bought my car the previous owner gave me 2 keys + the valet key....and they all work.

Good luck guys - following to see if anyone cracks the code.

 

Ah sorry

I thought that encoding the transponder was connected with encoding the remote control.

 

Had I known that it would end up costing me several hundred hours and a lot of frustration along the way over the last two months, I probably would have just driven to the dealer and purchased keys. Thankfully I have a very understanding wife who knows I never do anything the easy way. Friends and family know better than to tell me that something can't be done... LOL. At this point I am deep in and want to see this through, so onward I go.
It seems like the more I find, the more it takes. I did just a few minutes ago come across the layout of the menus that I need to be looking at getting into using the software. As I remember it though, these menu options were missing from the software, so until tomorrow when I can look at it again I will not know. The funny part about all of this is that the remote decoding (as long as I have it correct) and the software are really easy, but as far as I know nobody has done this before, so it is all a learning process. I find something and learn about it, go back and reread something else and understand what I didn't before. Find something else, learn about it, go back and reread two things and understand what I didn't before. It is a never ending cycle that is getting me closer to the end hopefully. We will see...

 

Are you actually repairing the boards? If so, I would like to compare notes with you.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the value of the components and what had failed on mine to no avail. I eventually gave up bought a used key. I swapped the blade and the RFID pill and then tried to program the car as instructed in the manual, over and over while wearing my tin foil hat, rubbing my rabbits foot and burning incense. Of course that didn't work because as we have learned here, the dealer has to do that via computer on the pre '05 cars.

Living very far from any dealer and giving it one last shot, I decided to swap the IC from the dead board to the working one and presto! I have a working remote!

Keep in mind guys, this isn't an option if you don't have any remote that the car has been programmed for and it was definitely not for the faint of heart, shaky of hand or sight impaired. You also must have a ultra fine point soldering iron.